Risk of recurrent seizures after a primary human herpesvirus 6-induced febrile seizure.
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that children experiencing first febrile seizures caused by human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) have an increased risk for recurrent seizures when compared with children experiencing first febrile seizures attributed to other illnesses.


METHODS
Descriptive prospective study of 36 HHV-6 culture-positive children and a matched subgroup of 86 HHV-6 culture-negative children, all of whom had their first febrile seizures evaluated in a tertiary care emergency department and were followed for at least 12 months, with an average follow-up of 35.7 months.


METHODS
The recurrence of seizures among HHV-6 culture-positive and HHV-6 culture-negative children with no known previous neurologic deficits.


RESULTS
A decreased incidence of recurrent seizures occurred in children whose first febrile seizures were caused by HHV-6. Twenty percent of HHV-6 culture-positive children and 40% of HHV-6 culture-negative children (P < 0.038) experienced a recurrent seizure within 1 year of their first febrile seizure. The mean time to recurrence within 12 months was 8.6 months for children with HHV-6 infection and 3.8 months (P < 0.001) for children without HHV-6 infection. Most recurrent seizures occurred within 12 months of a first febrile seizure for both HHV-6-positive and HHV-6-negative children (88 and 91%).


CONCLUSIONS
Children who had their first febrile seizures caused by primary HHV-6 infection did not demonstrate an increased risk for recurrent seizures when compared with children whose first febrile seizures were from other etiologies.
Jee
S H
SH
Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY, USA.
Long
C E
CE
Schnabel
K C
KC
Sehgal
N
N
Epstein
L G
LG
Hall
C B
CB
D002675:Child, Preschool; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000150:complications*; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D012306:Risk; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology*; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000209:etiology*